Forked cross

A pall, even Crucifixus dolorosus, mystics crucifix, fork crucifix Schächerkreuz, or Plague is a particularly expressive gothic suffering crucifix type in Y-shape that has emerged, according to new research under the influence of mysticism in the late 13th or early 14th century and especially in the Rhineland is to be found.

Description

It is assumed that the cross is a tree fork, more precisely, the tree of knowledge, which brought sin of the world. However, the sin was taken away again by the suffering of Jesus.

Typical of a mystic is the crucifix hanging on a Y-shaped tree fork Corpus Christi with the deep decline of the pectoralis major, with pain mouth and dying eyes. The narrow, sinewy arms are stretched more upward than to the side, the lean body is strongly curved and sunken below the sternum long, with strongly protruding ribs and a gaping wound in his side. Fingers and toes are spread apart and spasmodically curved. The overall impression of the colorful framed figures was so tapping tere quietly that believers were put in fear and terror. It is narrated that the Bishop of London in 1306 was to remove a crucifix mystic for this reason.

Formation

Religious currents of 13-14. Century have developed under the influence of mysticism a passion piety, which expressed itself in this image form, which is in particularly striking ways crucified as a sufferer. In art history, the technical term Crucifixus dolorosus has prevailed, which had been introduced by Geza de Francovich. Gothic suffering crucifixes often depend on fork crosses, but not in all cases! Quite a few hang on Latin crosses. But almost always is Astkreuze that remind vegetal forms on the Tree of Life. The previously used term Pestkreuz is misleading because the Crucifixi Dolorosi to and soon after 1300, ie before the outbreak of the great plague in Western Europe. Little is known about the original function. What is certain is that the Coesfelder Cross has already been done from the beginning during processions through the city. Many fork crosses are found in Dominicans and Franciscans at, especially in Italy.

Only in the Counter-Reformation began to worship the crosses in some places with a cross costume procession. Often the two thieves are represented on a fork cross, while Jesus is depicted hanging on a straight bar. Therefore, the cross type is also called Schächerkreuz.

Occurrence

The pall of St. Maria im Kapitol (Cologne) has long been regarded as the oldest fork crucifix. Restoration work revealed, however, that it was not the original form of fork crosses, but that this crucifix is likely to have only stimulated the spread of this special form of a cross in the Rhineland.

The Cross of St. Maria im Kapitol in Cologne was created at the beginning of the 14th century (before 1312). The restoration work in recent years designed mostly from the late middle second version again. Small sections of the exposed first version show striking similarities with the original, and since 1967 again visible color version of Bocholt Cross, which had the Cologne Cross as a model, albeit different barrel painters were at work.

The Crucifixus dolorosus from St. Maria im Kapitol can hardly connect to the Rhine and Cologne sculpture of his time in terms of style; he seemed so far a singular work of outstanding quality to be. It therefore seems questionable whether this fork cross he has been created by a Cologne sculptor. The other sculptures of this kind in Germany operate in the respective regional art as ' foreign bodies '. They had only a limited, local successor. In contrast, artistic connections to crosses in other countries can be seen. Particularly clearly seems to be the influence of Italy. Therefore, it is possible that it is the original fork crucifixes is Import pieces or that they have been created by migrant artists, for which in the case of the crucifix in St. Maria im Kapitol is supported by the use of typical walnut wood.

An early example of this mystic crucifixes is located next to St. Maria im Kapitol still in Cologne's Church of St. Severin. Further, later resulting crosses are to be found in Haltern, Bocholt, Borken and St. Lamberti in Coesfeld. The crucifixes in St. Simon and Jude in Thorr (Kreis Bergheim ), St. John in Location / Rieste ( Lower Saxony), the cross in St. Peter ( Merzig ) and the crucifix in the Catholic parish church of St. John Baptist in Kendenich (city Hürth ) belong to this group.

Such crucifixes are also, if known compared to crosses of moderate design in very low numbers, in other European countries, not only in Italy but also in Switzerland and in Upper Austria and Spain.

Heraldry

In heraldry, the forked cross is a common figure, whose arms are striving forked after the top plate edge. If it touches the plate edge, it is the herald image and is then called the tiller. According to the shape of the cross named divisions are the fork and drawbar division.